


Brittle

by Phandabbydosey



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brittle Bone Disease, Broken Bones, Chronic Illness, False Accusations, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Injury, M/M, Serious Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 05:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9369314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phandabbydosey/pseuds/Phandabbydosey
Summary: Told from the perspective of a doctor observing Dan’s strangely frequent trips to A&E, always for broken bones. His relationship with Phil seems perfect, but could there be a more sinister cause underlying Dan’s injuries? Or is it something else entirely?





	

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is phandabbydosey if you would rather read this over there :D
> 
> Beta-ed by the lovely gatsbys-old-sport over on tumblr :D

The first time I met Dan and Phil I didn’t think too much of it. In fact, I don’t even remember too many details. I had recently started working at a busy London hospital and they were just another case from the steady stream of patients coming through the A&E, just a simple broken wrist that needed a brisk x-ray and was quickly sent off to the plaster room. I registered that they were friendly, amiable boys who seemed very much smitten with one another and had only recently moved to London, but everything else from that first incident was forgotten.

I did recognise them when they came in again though, with Dan’s wrist still encased in the hard orange plaster. “Didn’t expect to see you two back so soon,” I’d commented with a chuckle, gesturing for Dan to sit up on the bed. I watched as he pushed himself up, sucking in a sharp breath and lightly gripping his torso, “What’s the problem?”

“I think I might’ve broken my ribs or something,” Dan said, sounding a little breathless from the pain that was so clearly etched onto his face. I immediately moved to stand beside him, lifting his shirt and carefully pressing my hand against where Dan had indicated the pain was.

“What happened?” I asked, being as tender as I could as I felt around Dan’s ribs for any abnormalities in the shaping of the bones.

“Oh-I-I just tripped and hit the table. I’m a massive klutz,” Dan mumbled, smiling sheepishly up at Phil who let out a tight chuckle. I glanced up at the pale skinned boy, taking in the concerned look in his cold blue eyes. It seemed like a strange expression, but I let myself assume he just didn’t like seeing his boyfriend in pain.

“Well, I’d say they definitely feel broken, but I’m afraid there’s not much we can do,” I said as I straightened up, allowing Dan to pull his shirt back down. Broken ribs were easy to spot, but a real trouble to heal, “You’ll be pretty sore for a few weeks so I’d recommend getting some cocodamol from the pharmacy downstairs. Other than that just try not to strain yourself or fall onto anymore tables.”

“I’ll try my best,” Dan mirrored my smile, picking up his jacket and thanking me before pushing the curtains back and leaving, Phil’s arm snaking it’s way around his waist no more than two seconds after their departure.

I started to get a little concerned when I saw them again just over a month later. Dan’s ribs seemed to have healed and he had the cast off his wrist, though he was holding the other one delicately against his chest. From where I was standing, I could see the way he was curled in on himself slightly in the hard waiting room chair, Phil’s shoulders rising and falling with a heavy huff as his blue eyes stared resolutely away from his boyfriend.

“Hello you two,” I said, grabbing Dan’s file from the reception desk and walking over to the couple, “How come you’re back in here?”

“I…uh…-”

“Dan was being stupid,” Phil cut over Dan’s quiet stammer, making the younger boy bite his lip and lower his head.

“Right…” I said slowly when no elaboration was given, gesturing for them to follow me through to a cubicle. They remained in silence.

“What actually happened then?” I asked, looking up at Dan for an answer. Their behaviour seemed very off today, the air almost frosty between them.

“Like Phil said, I was being stupid,” Dan sighed, holding out his hand so I could examine his forearm, glancing up sheepishly through his fringe at Phil, “I was pissing about and throwing the camera around. I missed catching it and it hit my arm. There was a snapping noise and it hurt a lot. Phil’s mad because I broke the camera.”

“ _And_ it was really expensive _and_ I needed to film a video tomorrow,” Phil grumbled, still barely making eye contact with Dan, “And it was all because you were pissing about.”

“I said I was sorry Phil,” Dan said beseechingly, tears welling up visibly in his eyes when Phil continued to ignore him. I felt bad for him and struggled to understand the drastic difference in Phil’s behaviour from the last time I saw him. He’d been so happy and cheerful, if a little tense though I just presumed that was caused by worry.

“Well…It looks like you’ve certainly broken your arm,” I interrupted the steely silence, my voice veiled in awkwardness, “I’ll just go get a x-ray arranged then I’ll be right back. Alright?”

Dan nodded and thanked me in a small voice, Phil remained silent and stony faced.

I headed out into the reception and sat myself at the computer, typing Dan’s name into the programme and starting to browse his previous admissions. Something seemed off about his story; surely just dropping a camera onto his arm couldn’t break it and the very frequent accidents that had landed him in A&E recently were pretty peculiar. And then there was Phil’s attitude, he seemed disproportionately angry about the whole incident.

Scrolling through Dan’s records was worrying to say the least. He seemed to have come in for broken bones three or four times a year since he and Phil had moved to the area. Dan had told me he was especially clumsy, but how had he managed to break so many bones in such a short amount of time?

I knew what conclusion my mind was coming to and, god, I didn’t want to go there but I had to consider it. From what I’d seen until tonight I’d say it was preposterous, but Phil’s behaviour that evening implied there might be more to the seemingly sweet man than meets the eye.

Could he be the one responsible for all of Dan’s little ‘accidents’?

My face grim, I quickly booked Dan his x-ray and walked back to his cubicle. “Right, I’ve booked you in for an x-ray Dan and you can head down to radiology in minute. I’d like to have a word with you first though,” I turned to look at Phil, “Can you give us a moment alone please, Phil? I need to speak to Dan in private.”

“Why?” Phil’s voice was short and clipped, though I could hear the underlying confusion.

“I just need to speak to him about something, it won’t take long.”

Phil’s striking blue eyes flicked between me and Dan for a moment before he huffed, muttering, “I’ll be out in the waiting room,” before the curtains were swinging closed behind him.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” A confused crease formed between Dan’s eyebrows as I sat down beside the bed, a grim expression twisting my face downwards.

“I wanted to ask you something and I didn’t want Phil to sway your answer at all,” I said, keeping my voice sincere in an attempt to reassure Dan as much as possible, “I was looking at your notes and you’ve been to A&E a lot of times since you moved to London. How come you get hurt so often?”

Still looking very confused, Dan let out a strange sounding laugh, “Why would Phil being here change my answer to that? I’m just really clumsy.”

“You know you can tell me anything Dan,” I said, looking into Dan’s dark eyes to let him know I was being sincere, “It’s all confidential.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Dan shrugged, shaking his head a little, “I’m just clumsy.”

This method of questioning obviously wasn’t getting through to Dan, so I decided to bite the bullet and just ask outright. “Dan, does Phil ever…cause your injuries?”

Dan recoiled a little, his eyes widening in a way that would be comic in any other situation. “You think…You think Phil’s doing this to me?” he spluttered, laughing incredulously, “God no, Phil will barely ever even raise his voice, let alone hit me.”

“He seemed pretty angry today.”

“He’s just tired, we both are. We have a radio show and it gets a bit stressful sometimes,” Dan smiled, looking relieved. He’d clearly been worried I was going to give him bad news, “Honestly, me and Phil are fine. I’m literally just a very clumsy, accident prone person.”

Dan looked like he was being honest and I was genuinely relieved. I was still a little confused about just how Dan managed to get injured quite so many times, but so long as no one was actively hurting him I’d just have to leave it.

“Alright then, I’m sorry for making any assumptions. I just had to make sure.”

“That’s alright, though I must admit it was the last thing I’d expected to come out of your mouth,” Dan snickered.

I bid him farewell as he headed off for his x-ray, smiling fondly when I saw him peck Phil on the lips before they walked away down the corridor.

I’d hoped I wouldn’t see them again after that, though I should have deduced from Dan’s medical history that that was very unlikely.

It was a few months and I’d almost forgotten about the couple, but then the paramedics arrived with a familiar looking boy groaning in pain on the stretcher. It took me a moment to realise that it was Dan, though the flustered looking Phil following behind the paramedics and nervously twisting the jacket in his hands should’ve given it away.

A couple nurses and I strode over as the stretcher was parked in a cubicle, helping the paramedics transfer Dan onto the bed as one explained the situation. “This is Dan Howell. He’s twenty three years old and has a suspected hip fracture,” she said monotonously, efficient as possible.

I nodded as she listed off what Dan’s vital signs were and luckily they all seemed normal. “Alright Dan, I’m going to give you injection now that’ll help with the pain,” I said as a got a syringe ready, looking up at Phil once I’d pushed the liquid into the skin around Dan’s hip, “What happened here then?”  
“I-I don’t really know,” Phil mumbled, biting his lip as he looked at Dan’s pained expression, “He was just going to get us some lunch and he fell over and he just started screaming. I don’t-He didn’t even fall that far.”

“Are you sure? It usually takes quite a bash to break a hip,” I frowned, confused by the story, “Especially in someone young like Dan.”

“Honestly, he just tripped,” Phil raised his hand helplessly, his eyes moving back to Dan and starting to water a little, “Hip fractures are bad, aren’t they? Is he going to be okay?”

“He should be okay, though he’ll almost certainly need surgery. Either to reconstruct his hip or replace it. And he’ll have quite a long recovery ahead of him,” I said, shaking my head a little, “It still doesn’t make sense. A fall from that height might cause this fracture in an elderly person because their bones are generally weaker but Dan…Could you give me minute?”

I sped out of the cubicle before Phil could say anything, telling the nurse to go take Dan up for an x-ray and that I’d join them shortly.

Sitting down at the reception desk, I quickly logged into the computer and opened up the internet browser. Within a few minutes I felt confident that I’d finally solved the mystery of Dan’s unusually regular fractures.

I quickly booked Dan the scan he needed then went up to radiology, checked Dan’s x-ray then went to find the boys. The pain relief must’ve kicked in because Dan was properly aware now, stopping his conversation with Phil when I approached them.

“Is it broken?” Dan asked before I could say anything, “Am I going to need to have surgery?”

“Well, I’m afraid your hip is broken, though not so badly that we’ll need to do a replacement. You’ll be going down to the orthopedic unit soon and they’ll go through the surgery and your recovery plan and everything. You’ll probably have it later today or maybe tomorrow morning depending on their schedules,” I explained, holding up the x-ray and pointing the cracks and breaks on Dan’s left hip, “However, I’d like to just take you for another scan before we transfer you. It’s called a DEXA scan and it’ll measure your bone density.”

“Why do you need to do that?” Phil asked.

“I just need the results to try and make a diagnosis,” I said as we reached the right room, “I’ll discuss it more with you after the scan.”

Dan and Phil, looking a little sceptical, just nodded and Phil followed the porter as he pushed Dan’s stretcher into the room.

About fifteen minutes and a review of the results later, I made my way back to Dan’s cubicle, feeling like a weight had been lifted of my chest. I’d finally figured it out.

“Well Dan, I’ve finally worked out what’s been causing you to break your bones so often,” I said, very pleased with myself at getting to the bottom of the mystery, “ It seems you have a condition known as osteoporosis, or ‘brittle bone disease’. The results of the DEXA scan showed you have a very low bone density, meaning they’re much more fragile than they should be. That’s why your arm broke just from dropping the camera on it.”

“What really?” Dan’s eyes widened, flicking to Phil - who looked just as shocked - before returning to me, “I thought I was just dangerously clumsy. Is there anything you can do to get rid of it?”

“Well, we can’t get rid of it, but we can manage it with medication which can help build up the density of your bones again. We’ll also give you vitamin D and calcium supplements to help strengthen your bones along with advice on how reduce the risk of sustaining more fractures,” I handed Phil a couple of leaflets I’d picked up on Dan’s condition, “These should give you some more information and the orthopedic doctors will elaborate on the treatment details.”  
Phil nodded and quickly scanned the front of the leaflet before looking up to me, thanking me with a genuine smile on his face.

“Hopefully this means you won’t see us again then,” Dan chuckled after thanking me as well.

“Yes, hopefully not,” I laughed, shaking both of their hands, “It’s been a pleasure to meet you though and I wish you all the best. Good luck with your recovery Dan.”

I waved as Dan was pushed out of the cubicle and into the lift, just catching a glimpse of the couple sharing a chaste kiss before the lift doors shut.

And that was the last I ever saw of Dan and Phil. I heard Dan’s operation went without a hitch and he’d recovered about as quickly as he could have then was back on his feet in no time. His treatment was working well and he hadn’t had a single fracture since he last came to A&E.

He’d also had a name change, now going by Daniel Lester, and was listed as the next of kin for his daughter, three year old Rose Lester. He and Phil were doing well with their careers and everything seemed to be going wonderfully for them.

It was hard to believe I’d ever suspected Phil of being abusive and, hand on heart, I could say I have never been so overjoyed to be wrong.


End file.
